A singer who grew up performing traditional Veracruz folk music with her family before conquering one of jazz's most prestigious vocal competitions is bringing that genre-crossing sound to Sonoma County. Lucía Gutiérrez Rebolloso, who performs simply as Lucía, is scheduled to take the stage at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 2 at the Green Music Center Loft on Sonoma State University's campus in Rohnert Park.
Tickets for the show run $36 to $56, according to The Press Democrat, which reported that Lucía will draw from a repertoire spanning son jarocho, jazz, Spanish-language classics, original material and contemporary pop covers. She was born and raised in the port city of Veracruz, as Mercury News reported, and that coastal upbringing still runs through everything she sings.
A Childhood Steeped in Veracruz Tradition
Lucía was performing with her family by age 2, according to the Press Democrat, and that early immersion came through her family's son jarocho group, Son de Madera, per San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. Son jarocho itself is the traditional music of Veracruz, shaped by Spanish, African and Indigenous Mexican influences, the Press Democrat noted. She began formal musical training at 13, per that same reporting, before enrolling in the jazz program at Universidad Veracruzana.
That academic track led to a bachelor's degree in jazz studies from Universidad Veracruzana in 2022, a milestone also confirmed by NJPAC. Somewhere along the way she discovered scat singing, the improvisational jazz technique built on syllables and sounds rather than conventional lyrics, and folded it into her own style, the Press Democrat reported. Her stated influences include jazz legends Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.
A Historic Win and a Growing Songbook
Lucía became the first Mexican artist to win the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2022, according to minuteman.com. Sarah Vaughan herself was a two-time Grammy winner and nine-time nominee who died in 1990, per the Press Democrat's reporting, and the competition named for her helped launch Lucía onto stages including Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York and, according to Visit Half Moon Bay, Carnegie Hall.
Her live sets reportedly mix Mexican standards like Silencio, La Llorona and Como Fue with María Grever's Cuando Vuelva a Tu Lado and its English-language counterpart, What a Difference a Day Makes, according to the Press Democrat. She has also been known to cover songs by Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, sometimes layering original lyrics over already-existing melodies. That same blend of Latin roots and pop instincts shows up on her self-titled debut album, released in 2025 and, per Visit Half Moon Bay, produced by Grammy winner Matt Pierson with interpretations of jazz standards, classic Spanish songs and contemporary pop.
From Carnegie Hall Collaborations to a Second Album
Lucía's collaborators read like a cross-section of contemporary Latin jazz. She contributed vocals to Natalia Lafourcade's album De Todas Las Flores and performed alongside Lafourcade at Carnegie Hall, according to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has also worked with other artists.
Her debut album brought together an international lineup of players, including Venezuelan pianist Edward Simon, American bassist Larry Grenadier, Mexican drummer Antonio Sánchez and Puerto Rican saxophonist David Sánchez, per the Boston Symphony Orchestra. By May 2026, Lucía had finished a second album, according to Mercury News, which also reported that moving to New York two years earlier had deepened her appreciation for salsa and Latin jazz and pointed her toward the music of Celia Cruz. That same month she played a run of Northern California dates at UC Davis' Mondavi Center, Bach Dancing & Dynamite, Kuumbwa Jazz Center and the Presidio Theatre, backed by drummer Mark Ferber, bassist Hamish Smith and pianist Gabriel Chakarji.
Looking Ahead
The Press Democrat reported that Lucía has performed across Europe and the Americas and is scheduled to appear in Palermo, Italy, in November. She has said she hopes to eventually work with Rubén Blades, a Panamanian singer-songwriter, and to write music for a film someday. For now, though, she has described herself simply as still learning and grateful for the experiences that have carried her from a childhood in Veracruz to a jazz vocal crown and stages across two continents, according to the Press Democrat's reporting.
Whether the crowd at Weill Hall Loft hears more son jarocho, jazz standards or a surprise pop cover, the throughline stays the same: a voice built on Veracruz tradition, sharpened by conservatory jazz training, and unafraid to reach for whatever song fits the moment.
